The majority-Republican Arizona moved forward on Tuesday to strip Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a vocal critic of the Senate-led audit of the 2020 election in Maricopa County, of her ability to defend election lawsuits.
Both Arizona’s House and Senate appropriations committees voted to approve the measure, which would put Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich in charge of defending all lawsuits through Jan. 2, 2023, near the conclusion of both Hobbs’s and Brnovich’s current terms.
The proposed changes are part of the full-budget proposal that will be voted on later this week, a local ABC affiliate reported.
“The legislature intends that the attorney general make all strategic decisions regarding election litigation and be allowed to intervene on behalf of this state if the attorney general determines, in the attorney general’s sole discretion, that the intervention is appropriate,” the bill says.
NEW FIRM HANDLING ARIZONA AUDIT HAND RECOUNT AFTER PREVIOUS COMPANY’S CONTRACT EXPIRED
The bill states the attorney general cannot represent or provide legal counsel to the secretary of state or the Department of State through June 30, 2023. Although it allows the secretary to hire one full-time “equivalent position” to serve as a legal adviser, it blocks them from “spending or incurring indebtedness to employ outside or private attorneys to provide representation or services.”
Relations between Hobbs and Brnovich have reached a new low in recent months, according to Capitol Media Services. The report said Hobbs has filed over a dozen complaints against Brnovich and staffers with the State Bar of Arizona. The Bar is in charge of policing attorney conduct and has the ability to punish those who violate ethical rules.
“I would say the unprecedented attack on the attorney general, the chief deputy, and many high-level attorneys is uncalled for,” Republican state Sen. Vince Leah said. “This is really disconcerting and should be disconcerting to the people of Arizona.”
Democratic state Rep. Randy Friese called the vote an act of “meddling with the constitution.”
Friese and other Democratic lawmakers see the measure as a response to Hobbs’ use of outside counsel to defend Arizona voters from lawsuits by the State Republican Party and others challenging the state’s election results.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Critics of the Maricopa County 2020 election audit, including Hobbs, have cast it as a partisan effort after former President Donald Trump and his supporters questioned President Joe Biden’s victory in the state, where he narrowly won.
